TransitX Wants To Bring Futuristic Transit Pods to St. Louis

The service would be 100% privately funded and fares would be as low as 25 cents

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOX) — This is probably what the future looked like when you thought about it as a kid -- lightweight pods zipping people around the city on elevated ribbons called podways.

It's called Transit X -- founder and CEO Mike Stanley says six towns in the Atlanta area say they want the privately funded service, and it ground could break this year. Stanley says they'll start small.

It's a completely automated system :

Passengers would use a smart device to hail a pod

The pod lowers from the podway down to street level

Then, it raises you back up and takes you nonstop to the destination you input

Rates depend on distance, so you could theoretically pay as little as 25 cents.

Stanley says he's already secured nearly a billion dollars in funding guarantees from investment bankers. Transit X has outlined plans for many cities, including St. Louis, which initially would follow a similar path to Metrolink with an eventual north/south line plus more service in North County.